[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E33]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PROTECTING U.S. SECTOR INVESTMENTS IN HONDURAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STEVEN HORSFORD

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 12, 2024

  Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of protections 
for U.S. private sector investments in Central America, which addresses 
the root causes of illegal immigration to the United States of America.
  In 2023, it was announced that the Government of Honduras would open 
six new consulates in the United States. They are intended to address 
the needs of Hondurans who made the dangerous journey to the United 
States and entered the country illegally. This after-the-fact approach 
is emblematic of a multilateral failure to deal with the root cause of 
illegal immigration--a fundamental lack of opportunity in Central 
America. Once a local economy has failed to provide opportunity, job 
seekers are forced to look elsewhere to provide for their families. 
They often come to the U.S., but the battle is lost at this stage. 
Consulates in foreign land serving those who arrived here due to 
shortcomings of broken political systems are too little, too late. What 
do those who emigrate desire most? A secure, well-paying job in their 
own country.
  A thriving domestic private sector provides a job market that allows 
capable and ready-to-work individuals to support their families. We 
know this can be done. In fact, in Honduras, it has been proven that 
U.S. private sector investment, spent wisely and properly deployed, is 
creating thousands of jobs in the local economy. One prominent example 
is Honduras Prospera, a U.S.-led developer of special economic zones 
called ZEDEs. Prospera has invested over $100 million to bring new 
industries and new opportunities into Honduras. But now the 
underpinning Honduran constitutional ZEDE-law is under attack by 
President Xiomara Castro's administration. They are threatening illegal 
retroactive repeal of the ZEDE law via an illegitimate reshuffling of 
the country's Supreme Court. We cannot stand by and allow the 
expropriation of U.S. investment while denying thousands of Hondurans 
the right to a stable job. And this action violates a 50-year legal 
stability guarantee under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United 
States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
  Undermining U.S. private sector investment will have significant and 
lasting negative effects for the Honduran people. Over the past few 
years, Honduras has confronted both the destruction wrought by Category 
4 Hurricanes Eta and Iota, along with the impact of the COVID-19 
pandemic. As Hondurans work to rebuild, ensuring stable U.S. investment 
will afford Hondurans a fair working environment that provides good 
economic, educational, health care, labor, and housing opportunities. 
Better domestic opportunities help to reduce the pressures that lead 
citizens to irregular migration.
  Sustained U.S. investment in Honduras is strongly in our national 
security interest. After breaking Honduras' alliance with Taiwan and 
establishing diplomatic ties with China, President Castro recently 
traveled to China to meet with President Xi Jinping ``to jointly plan 
for the future development'' and inaugurate Honduras' embassy in 
Beijing. The promise of Chinese investment is both a powerful motivator 
for President Castro and a growing concern for global stability in the 
region. Preserving and furthering U.S. investment and engagement in 
Honduras is critical for our national security.
  I encourage my fellow Members of Congress to ensure that all hard-
working Hondurans who wish to live and work in their country can have 
the opportunity to do so. So, let's request that U.S. agencies that 
control American visa access deny these benefits to any Honduran 
politician or policymaker advocating the expropriation of U.S. assets 
or investments. Strategic U.S. private sector investment is proving to 
make Honduras a land of opportunity for Hondurans while alleviating an 
ever-growing migration crisis here in the U.S.

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